State's farmers may pay lower rates

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Thousands of Victorian farmers could end up with lower rates if
the findings of a review of rural rating is adopted by councils and
the State Government.

The Gannawarra Joint Rates Review Working Group report, released
on Friday, has recommended that rural councils across Victoria
consider introducing fairer rating systems.

The report was the result of a longstanding dispute between the
Gannawarra Shire, based around the northern Victorian towns of
Kerang and Cohuna, and the Gannawarra Ratepayers Action Group, made
up mainly of farmers, who argued that they were forced to pay an
unfair share of the shire's rates.

Farmers living within the shire had argued that they did not
enjoy the same benefits as urban residents, such as street lighting
and community services, but were still expected to pay for them. At
the time, although the farmers made up 13 per cent of Gannawarra's
ratepayers, they were paying almost 60 per cent of the shire's
rates.

After a two-year legal battle that ended with a settlement in
2002, the council agreed to adopt a 9 per cent discount for
farmers. The discount has been maintained over the past two
financial years, but the report recommends that this increase to 20
per cent.

It also recommends that the council develop a comprehensive
differential rating system that would be "more equitable in terms
of revenue raising and more efficient in terms of council
spending". It urges amendments to the Local Government Act to
clarify the obligations of local government in providing equitable
differential rating and to provide a cost-effective review if
ratepayers are unhappy with a proposed rating strategy.

Victorian Farmers Federation economics committee chairman Geoff
Crick said the report was a good outcome, not just for farmers but
ratepayers across Victoria. "There's a potential for it to have
implications across the state where you have other shires that
expect a section of their ratepayer base to pay an unfair
proportion of the rate revenue to the shire," he said.

Slater and Gordon solicitor Lorien Devitt, who represented the
Gannawarra Ratepayers Action Group in the 2002 settlement, said
that while most rural councils used differential rates, the
report's recommendations could have an impact on shires that used
uniform rates and result in fairer rates for thousands of Victorian
farmers.

"What the report really does is that it makes council rating and
budgetary processes accessible by normal people," Ms Devitt said.
"It demystifies it and sets out in plain English the kinds of
things that you need to look out for when you're working out an
equitable way of levying rates."

Ms Devitt said the action group was depending on the goodwill of
the shire and of Local Government Minister Candy Broad to implement
the recommendations.

Gannawarra Shire Mayor Lui Basile said the council would
consider the recommendations, but some were up to the State
Government to implement.

Cr Basile said the council might increase the 9 per cent
discount to the farmers, but any discount would have to take into
account the effect on other ratepayers.

"If you increase the differential to the extent that they are
requesting at 20 per cent . . . urban ratepayers will have to pay
an increased amount. A large number of our urban ratepayers are
also pensioners who have probably even less capacity to pay higher
rates," he said.

But John Smith, Kerang dairy farmer and Gannawarra Ratepayers
Action Group spokesman, called on the shire to increase the
differential.

Mr Smith said that even at a 9 per cent discount, farmers in the
shire were still paying about 50 per cent of its total rates.